== BABA'S RECOMMENDATION ON SADHANA ==
Namaskar,
Whenever opportunity allows, I speak with my Dada about my sadhana--
sometimes about certain blissful experiences and and other times about
difficulties I was having. One time I was telling that when I sit in my
sadhana room, which I made in the corner of my study place, and when I try
to do sadhana sitting there then so many obstructive thoughts come which
divert my mind - ike some sound or some phone calls, or the cry of the
children etc.
The central idea of my question was that most of the time doing sadhana in
the house itself is very difficult. So I asked that what is the reason
behind this? And how can I overcome this?
Then he told his old personal experiences of Jamalpur and told that once he
visited BABA and got opportunity to do field walk with HIM. The time was
around 10 pm on spring (Phalguna) night.
FIELD WALK WITH BABA IN THOSE JAMALPUR DAYS
'We were three persons along with BABA. And BABA was teaching about how to
manage sadhana in the house. BABA told that in the past yogis were leaving
the society and family and going away from town and village and living in
the Himalayas. And there they were doing sadhana, dhyana etc.'
'Baba was saying that, naturally then the general public thinks that
sadhana is not possible while maintaining family life and living in the
house. Then BABA further said that leaving the society and family is not
practical. Our Ananda Marga process of sadhana is easy, you can do it
anywhere. There is no need to go to the Himalayas.'
'It is not so difficult to go out from the house and sit in one lonely
place nearby. And doing sadhana in any lonely place under the tree or in
the field or in any natural place will be much better than in the house.
And if it is night time then need not to go to search any special place--
because during night there are many lonely, dark, and cool temperature
places. But BABA emphasized, how the place should surely be a little
isolated, clean, fresh air. AND away from house and interruptions. Then
BABA was telling, you will feel the quality of sadhana will be improved.'
SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
Then my Dada said, 'Since hearing this from Baba, then whenever I get time I
go outside my house to practice my sadhana. I only face difficulty when it
is pouring rain. Otherwise I like to go out. And I always find that
sadhana is far better outside in comparison to practicing sadhana in the
house where there are interruptions and disturbances.'
'Not only that even the lonely house where I was once living diverts my
mind from sadhana. Especially when I sometimes open my eyes and see towards
my books and files and personal items. But in a lonely field outside and
away from the house or personal living place, such obstructions are not
there.'
'Sometimes I found that when going far away is difficult then sitting
outside the room or in our own lawn. Or behind the house in the
kitchen-garden that is far better than inside the house.'
MY OWN EXPERIENCES
After I listened all these experiences I started following. And each and
every step I found that by Baba's grace my concentration developed and I
felt that by this way sadhana is far easy. Because when the mind is
restless then sitting in one posture and closing eyes is headache or
burden. And when sadhana is good then time passes quickly.
Although cemetery sadhana is best, but when it is difficult to go there
then any other place outside the house is conducive. It might a deserted
field, or in some small forested area. Or some many places but surely where
there is a natural surrounding & no human disturbances then that is very
helpful.
Only one problem I faced. That when I tell family members that I am going
for 1/2 hour I always come very late. Sometimes 1 hr delay, sometimes two,
and sometimes even 3 hr delay. The reasons is I forgot about keeping the
time because time in sadhana passed so quickly. And then my parents and
especially Mother scolds me for making delay in food. But gradually they
got habituated and lately nobody cares about my returning.
Furthermore after all it is BABA's grace, because without HIS grace nobody
can do anything.
A FEW MORE TIPS AND REFLECTIONS
There are some more points which I will add here, which I got from my Dada
and which I later experienced, when I tried.
In some cases when houses are of a very economic type, then the whole family
is living together in a few crowded rooms. And many activities are going
on. Children are crying, the TV is on and some are watching, and some phone
discussion is also going on from time to time. Not only that, the
delicacies and dainties' fragrance is saturating all around the room if the
kitchen is close by, and if someone is cooking. So the whole atmosphere is
completely different than that which is conducive to spiritual practice.
Then in that situation, there is no way than to just go out a few hundred
meters away from the house or from the village. And sit in some clean, and
unimportant isolated place.
Why unimportant? Because if it is a common place then naturally people will
come for different purposes. And that will unnecessarily disturb in
sadhana. And if you get one unimportant congenial, isolated place which has
proper fresh air. Then just you spread your tarpaulin first. And on the
top, spread a mat and sit on that. And start practicing sadhana. Under any
tree, for example.
POSITIVE EFFECT IN PUBLIC
Before, when I was not doing this thing. Then in my village people had
confusion that Margis are not doing puja.
They had some logic in their favor. They were thinking that because Ananda
Margis are not participating in idol worship related with different
temples, mosques, and church rituals or pujas or ceremonies. i.e. durga
puja, kali puja, ganesh puja, chhath puja, satyanarayan puja, and hundreds
of Gods and Goddesses related dogmatic rituals, etc. Because Margis don't
participate in any of these. So dogmatic people had the belief that Ananda
Margiis don't do anything. Or that they are atheist.
But when I started doing my sadhana outside the village under some tree,
then the negative feeling about the Marg in the mind of dogmatic people in
my village, that is gone. In their way, they think that "Margis are doing
something, remembering God."
So that's how good things happened. And as we start doing more of this,
then we as well as the general public will be benefited both in different
ways.
BENEFITS OF SECLUDED SADHANA
We sadhakas will be benefited by going on and doing proper sadhana in an
isolated place. Sadhana will be better. i.e. time, length, and quality of
sadhana will be multiplied. Because Baba says, that isolated place is very
conducive.
Baba says, "It cannot be denied that the noise of the bustling world is a
hindrance to intuitional practice and makes solitude very desirable." (EP,
p.125)
Baba says, "It is desirable to practise various lessons of sa'dhana' alone,
in a lonely place." (GHC, p.40)
So everyone will have their own experience about better and better sadhana,
when they start doing in an isolated place.
And these days, the opportunity for sadhana is far greater than it was in
the past. Such obstacles in the society are no longer present which made it
very difficult in past ages to do sadhana.
Baba says, "Later on, with the further development of philosophy and
science the number of impediments and obstacles faced by humans became
fewer than those
which the ancient humans faced while moving along the path of spirituality
during the days of backward science and philosophy. The people of today do
not have to labour quite as hard as Vaishishta and Vishvamitra had to do in
order to discover the way to move ahead, because modern science and
philosophy today are valuable aids to human progress. The people of today
are able to realize the Supreme Entity in one life, or maybe in 15 to 20
years, for which they had to practice penance for lives together in the
past." (AFPS-3)
Here again Baba guides us:
Baba says, "Spiritual progress is the only real progress. Those who deem
mundane or psychic movement to be true progress are misguided and are
wasting their time. Whatever Ka'l Purus'a giveth with one hand He taketh
with the other." (AV-12, p.158)
Kindly write your own thoughts and experiences.
Namaskar,
Hariish
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Use of Divine Powers
"As't'aeshvarya tumi cha'r'a', anye kare vivek-ha'ra'..." (PS 3333)
Note: In the above teaching Baba graciously guides us that only Parama
Purusa knows how to utilise the divine powers-- no one else. If anyone has
occult power then they misuse it. And it becomes the cause of their
degradation.
But some jinani Dadas are confused. They are telling that sadhakas
should use occult powers for serving others. But these jinanis don't know
that their delirium is pleasing to the ears only. The eternal truth is the
aforesaid Baba's teaching.
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